Rebecca Donaghue: Cool, Calm and Secretly Tougher Than You (Podcast)

Rebecca Donaghue should put on a clinic about mental toughness.

An unsung hero of sorts, she has quietly made her way up the ranks of U.S. distance runners. She ran and raced in pain and often limped from high school until 2005 - about 10 years - until she finally found a trainer at Penn State who helped her correct her biomechanics that were causing her problems.

When she ran pain-free for 60 seconds on a treadmill for the first time, she almost broke down in tears.

It was a rebirth of sorts for her, being able to train like "normal" people, if you can really call distance runners normal. She continued to improve, benefiting from consistent training for the first time, and as 2008 rolled around, she had her eyes on qualifying for the Olympic Trials.

But in March, she slipped on some ice and broke her arm. The doctor said she was going to have to wear a cast and couldn't run while the cast was on. She begged for some kind of alternative. This is what they came up with:

Talk about a bionic woman! Donaghue was able to continue training with the added bonus of feeling part-Terminator. She qualified for the Trials on the last day they would take entries, in a PR of 15:55 for 5000m. She then PR'd in the prelims by 20 seconds and in the finals by another second.

Since then, Donaghue has gotten better and better, placing 2nd in the US 5K Road Championships in 2009, and crossing the finish line as the 1st American at the prestigious Freihofer's Run earlier this month.

Donaghue says she is, "sometimes overlooked a bit, which is a huge motivator."

She may seem quiet and unassuming off the track but on the track, she is fierce and strongly believes in her own ability and toughness.

Get some coffee and a snack and listen to this 45-minute interview with Rebecca Donaghue. You'll learn a thing or two about mental toughness and be inspired in the process.

Good luck to Rebecca this week at the USA Track & Field Championships in the 5000m!

Interview with Rebecca Donaghue

Women Talk Sports Podcasts

Think she isn't one of the coolest people in the world yet? She's also an amazing artist. Check out photos of some of her pieces below:

View AnnGaff's Profile

• Filed Under:  
• Running, Track & Field, Sports, SportsPLUS, Inspiration

• Tags:
• inspiration
• Track and Field
• USATF
• motivation
• 5000m
• distance runners
• Mental Toughness
• Rebecca Donaghue
• perseverance

This post is related to an event on our Calendar:

• USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships